The New Knowledge Services: merging knowledge management and librarianship

Press Release:
Soutron Global
[May 8, 2012]

Copyright (c) 2012 Soutron Global

Abstract: At roundtable discussions recently hosted by Soutron Global in New York and Toronto, international library transformation company Soutron Global guest speaker and Consulting Specialist for Knowledge Strategy Guy St. Clair examined enterprise intellectual capital management and the emerging role of librarians as the enterprise’s intellectual capital thought leader.

San Diego, CA - May 8, 2012 – At roundtable discussions recently hosted by Soutron Global in New York and Toronto, international library transformation company Soutron Global guest speaker and Consulting Specialist for Knowledge Strategy Guy St. Clair examined enterprise intellectual capital management and the emerging role of librarians as the enterprise's intellectual capital thought leader.

According to St. Clair's resulting blog posting on Positioning Specialist Librarians for KM, specialist librarians are now expected to function as knowledge thought leaders, both in developing organizational knowledge strategy and in building (or re-shaping, if it already exists) the company as a knowledge culture. And the challenge with this concept is that knowledge services can't be delivered using the same institutional/corporate frameworks that have traditionally been used.

St. Clair further contends that successful knowledge management is about the knowledge-seeker (aka audience or customer) and argues that libraries must be transformed in order to meet management intellectual capital management expectations. In order to meet that expectation, he identifies four requirements:

Senior management must recognize the value of information, knowledge, and strategic learning to corporate success

The specialized library (or other knowledge-focused operational function) must be transitioned into the organization's strategic knowledge function

The specialist librarian – or other knowledge professional – must transition into the company's strategic knowledge professional

Full results of the Soutron Global roundtable exchange of ideas regarding specialist librarian career planning and new knowledge services can be found at www.soutronglobal.com under the recommended links.

About Soutron Global

As a client-driven company with strong award-winning leadership, Soutron Global is a cloud-based Library, Knowledge, and Information Management Solutions provider dedicated to "Managing Library Transformation". Soutron Global partners with special libraries and information centers around the globe to transition them to digital technologies with innovative, easy-to-use high-quality products. Soutron Global can be found online at www.soutronglobal.com.